Week Ten - Color Theory

 - Intro to Color Theory
- Warm and Cool Color Wheels
- Light vs. Shadow
- Atmospheric Perspective


Color Theory (This Power Point will explain some basic concepts of color theory)

Warm and Cool Primaries
 There are cool and warm versions of each primary color. You can create two separate color wheels with each, one warm and one cool. Sometimes mixing a warm blue with a cool yellow will give you a muddy green. To create a bright green, try using a cool blue and a cool yellow.

 Double Primary Color Wheel

Color of Light vs. Color of Shadow

Shadows are typically the complimentary color of the light. Using the light is warm and the shadow is cool. On a sunny day in the winter, the light will be warm and yellow or orange. This means the shadows will be cool and blue or purple.

Atmospheric Perspective

As objects recede in space, the colors typically become lighter and cooler. This affect that the atmosphere has on the way we perceive color is usually seen with objects FAR away in space, like what can be seen in a landscape.

In-Class:  Complete a Color Wheel(s) using colored pencils and/or markers. This should look like the color wheel at the top of this post. The outer ring is for the primary, complementary, and tertiary colors.  The middle ring is for shades (you add black to the colors).  The inner ring is for tints (you add white to the colors). Since you probably don't have a large selection of colors to work with, don't be concerned with making both a warm and cool color wheel. Just use the primary colors you have to complete a single color wheel.

Homework Assignment:  Create and incorporate a new layer onto your Overlay Assignment using Color, or start a fresh drawing using color – use colored pencils and/or markers.
Colored Pencil Example: